The radiance falls on all of us, and we are nothing without each other.
只有和大家团结在一起,每个人才是光芒四射的。
Instead, I flew back to Oregon,
可现实是,我飞回了俄勒冈,
and as I watched the evergreens and rain come back into view,
看着窗外的雨拍打着常青树
I just drank many tiny bottles of airplane "feel sorry for yourself."
我不禁借酒浇愁。
I thought about how, if I was a writer, I was some kind of misfit writer.
我想就算我是一个作家,我也只是一个格格不入的作家。
What I'm saying is, I flew back to Oregon without a book deal, without an agent,
我想说,我回到俄勒冈,没有签下一个书约,没有经纪人同行,
and with only a headful and heart-ful of memories of having sat so near the beautiful writers.
有的只是满满的回忆。我曾经和那些美丽的作家离得那么近。
Memory was the only prize I allowed myself.
回忆是我给自己的奖励。
And yet, at home in the dark, back in my underwear,
然后当我回到家的黑暗中,穿回我的内衣,
I could still hear their voices.
我还能够听见她们的声音。
They said, "Don't listen to anyone who tries to get you to shut up or change your story."
她们说:“不要让任何试图让你闭嘴的人改变你的故事。”
They said, "Give voice to the story only you know how to tell."
她们说:“表达只有你才知道的感受。”
They said, "Sometimes telling the story is the thing that saves your life."
她们说:“有时候写书可以改变你的一生。”
Now I am, as you can see, the woman over 50.
现在,我也50多岁了。
And I'm a writer. And I'm a mother. And I became a teacher.
我是一个作家。我是一位母亲。我也成为了一名老师。
Guess who my favorite students are.
猜猜我最喜欢的学生是谁。
Although it didn't happen the day that dream letter came through my mailbox,
我写了一篇回忆录,尽管不是从邮筒拿出信的那一天写的,
I did write a memoir, called "The Chronology of Water."
叫做“似水年华”。